Ontario International Airport (ONT), located in the heart of the San Bernardino Valley (California), is the fastest growing commercial airport in the U.S. with a passenger volume expected to grow by 15 to 30 million annual passengers by 2040.
San Bernardino County Transportation Authority (SBCTA) has partnered with ONT to develop transit solutions to reduce traffic congestion throughout the region.
The tunnel to the Ontario International Airport Project will create a subsurface transit connection between the Cucamonga Metrolink Station and ONT terminals. The Cucamonga Station is the closest to ONT on the San Bernardino Line with the higher number of boardings in the Metrolink system.
Most passengers departing from and arriving to ONT use I-10, which parallels the Metrolink San Bernardino Line from downtown Los Angeles to San Bernardino. I-10 is currently the most used segment of freeway in San Bernardino County, carrying some 270,000 vehicles per day.
Operated and maintained by Omnitrans, the proposed Project would include a 6.76 km (4.2 mile) long single bi-directional tunnel directly connecting the Cucamonga Metrolink Station to ONT. Tunnel boring would occur up to 18.29 m (60 feet) below the ground surface.
Autonomous electric vehicles - on an “on-demand” basis and developed under the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) Fixed Guideway requirements - would enter the tunnel via a ramp from the Cucamonga Metrolink Station located within the existing Metrolink station parking lot. At the airport, vehicles would emerge via ramps and drive to drop-off points near either Terminal 2 or Terminal 4. Electric vehicles would be grouped and queued at their origin station and depart toward the destination station once boarded with passengers. After the group of vehicles arrives at the destination station and passengers deboard, new passengers would board, and the group of vehicles would return to its origin station. If no new passengers are present, empty vehicles would be returned to the origin station to pick up new passengers.
The proposed Project includes three at-grade passenger stations: one located in the northwest corner of the existing Cucamonga Metrolink Station parking; the other two at ONT within the existing parking lots located across from Terminals 2 and 4 and connecting to their associated tunnel portals along Terminal Way. A tunnel egress shaft would be located adjacent to I-10.
Virtual Public Meeting
On 20/07/2022 the SBCTA hosted a virtual public meeting for the proposed project, including an informational presentation followed by the opportunity for participants to ask questions and submit comments to be included in the Draft Environmental Impact Report (EIR). Click here to watch the recording of that meeting, here to view the presentation provided at the meeting. A 30-day scoping comment period will conclude at 05/08/2022. Submit comments online here (https://arcg.is/0K4CL90) or Write to SBCTA, attn Victor Lopez, San Bernardino, email info@goSBCTA.com. Visit https://www.gosbcta.com/project/ontloop-rail-to-air-tunnel-connection/. 30/22.
